Bedrooms

Contents

1. Bedroom Furniture, Facilities, Equipment and Decoration
2. Bedroom Security and Keys
3. Staff/Carers Presence in Bedrooms
4. Visiting and Sharing Rooms
5. Alarms and Monitoring Devices

1. Bedroom Furniture, Facilities, Equipment and Decoration

Children/young people's bedrooms should be pleasantly furnished, equipped and decorated in a manner appropriate to their individual needs, interests and choices.

Children/young people should be encouraged to personalise their bedrooms, with posters, pictures and personal items of their choice.

Children/young people of an appropriate age and level of understanding should be encouraged and supported to purchase furniture, equipment or decorations; preferably as part of a plan to prepare the child for independence.

2. Bedroom Security and Keys

Children/young people should have adequate, safe, storage for their belongings and medicines, if permitted to administer their own.

If it is necessary to do so, to protect children/young people or their belongings or to develop their sense of independence, bedrooms may be fitted with locks or other forms of security. If locks are fitted, keys will be made available to children/young people. A lockable drawer should also be provided.

3. Staff/Carers Presence in Bedrooms

Children/young people 's privacy should be respected.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, staff should knock the door before entering children/young people's bedrooms; and then only enter with their permission.

The exceptional circumstances where staff may have to enter a child's bedroom without knocking or asking permission are as follow:

• To wake a heavy sleeper, undertake cleaning, return or remove soiled clothing; though, in these circumstances, the child/young person should have been told/warned that this may be necessary;
• To take necessary action, including forcing entry, to protect the child/young person or others from injury or to prevent likely damage to property. The taking of such action is a form of Physical Intervention.

See Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions Procedure.

4. Visiting and Sharing Rooms

Children/young people may not share bedrooms or receive visitors in their bedrooms unless has been agreed by the social worker, the children/young people's views and wishes have been obtained, considered and the arrangements are outlined in the relevant Placement Plan.

5. Alarms and Monitoring Devices

To ensure the safety of the child/young person or others, it may be appropriate to monitor exit and entry from a child/young person's bedroom outside of normal waking hours with the use of a silent alarm that is triggered when a door is opened.

Such devices may only be used if outlined in the Home's Statement of Purpose and the arrangements set out in relevant children/young people's Placement Plans.

If used, every effort must be made to ensure the child/young person's privacy, dignity and rights whilst the system is in use.

• The use of these alarms is outlined fully in the homes statement of purpose;
• Their use is assessed on an individual basis and agreed to in the care plan by a social worker;
• The child/young person is made fully aware of their use and the reasons why the decision is made;
• The use of the door alarms is reviewed regularly as to their appropriateness of use.